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Carpe Diem

This year saw the highest-ever jump to a record level of CEO optimism in global economic growth over the next 12 months. However, this burst of positivity regarding the macro economy does not translate into an equivalent surge of confidence in their own organisations’ growth prospects.

What Keeps CEOs Up at Night Differs By Region

While regional differences reveal a mix of threats that concern CEOs, they share a common increasing worry about broader societal developments — geopolitical uncertainty, terrorism, and climate change — rather than direct business risks such as changing consumer behaviour or new market entrants.

Navigating a Fractured World

Echoing the theme of the World Economic Forum this year, CEOs acknowledge that we live in a fractured world. They are divided over whether future economic growth will benefit the many or the few, but they agree that we need new metrics to measure prosperity going forward.

What's on the minds of Belgian CEOs for the year ahead?

CEOs in Belgium are among the most confident regarding global economic growth with almost two-thirds (63%) believing that it’ll improve over the next 12 months, compared to 57% globally. Of the broader societal threats that CEOs in Belgium worry about, geopolitical uncertainty tops the list (87%), followed by over-regulation (84%), populism (82%) and climate change and environmental damage (82%).

With regards to business threats to growth, the availability of key skills is the greatest concern for nearly all respondents (89%), notably ahead of cyber threats (79%) and the speed of technological change (76%). Specifically with regards to digital talent, Belgian CEOs seem to be struggling harder than their counterparts in Western Europe and globally to attract digital talent.